And
the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to
you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should
not reign over them. (1
Samuel 8:7)
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a monarchy
ruled by the pastor. The pastor is not
the lord of the church. Neither is the
church an oligarchy ruled by the deacons.
Deacons are church servants, not church bosses. Nor is the church a democracy ruled by the
people. The people are the body of
Christ, not the head. The church is a
theocracy which means that God rules.
Christ is the head of the church.
If the church is functioning Biblically, the pastors and deacons are taking
their lead from Christ, and the members are following according to the
direction of the Holy Spirit. In 1
Samuel 8, we have a time when Israel was a theocracy. God was their King. They decided they needed a human king like
the other nations, and in so doing, rejected their Heavenly King. They rejected God, and it is possible we may
also. How does this happen?
They were disappointed with the job performance of
Samuel’s sons, and believed that Samuel was too old to lead them competently
(v.1-5). Disappointment with God’s
leaders may lead to disillusionment with God’s leadership. Leaders may fail in their duty—to some degree
they will. Love your pastor, but don’t
put him on a pedestal. Be loyal to your
preacher, but don’t worship him. The
finest pastor, most dedicated deacon, or best Sunday School teacher will fall
short at times. Make any mortal an
object of faith and you set yourself up for disappointment.
The people responded to the crisis of confidence in
leadership by natural reasoning (v.5).
Reason certainly has its place. A
mind is a terrible thing to waste. God
has ordained, however, that revelation be the root of our reasoning. What they needed was the clear Word of God
from His servant Samuel to guide them.
Instead, they turned to the world, rather than to the Word. Israel wanted to be like the pagan nations
around them—ruled by a king. This is
often the tragic choice made by churches today—to employ the world’s philosophy
and methodology just because it works in the world. It is pragmatism and promotes that the end
justifies the means.
Samuel felt a sense of rejection (v.6-9). What did God’s man do? He took it to the Lord in prayer. He didn’t bottle it up and become bitter; nor
did he blow up and become angry. He
trusted God to handle it. That is the
response leaders must make when the people’s hearts are rebellious.
Rebellion is in our bones. The desire for personal autonomy and
rebellion against authority can be traced back to Eden. What happened in Samuel’s day, and what is
happening in ours, is but the latest edition of the same old story. Samuel made powerful arguments, but did not
persuade them (v.10-22). They stubbornly
responded, “Our minds are made up—don’t confuse us with facts!” It was an issue of authority. Would they listen to God’s messenger, and if
it was the Word of God and not his own fleshly desires directing him, then
follow? Or, would they think their own
logic sufficient and the world’s ways superlative over God’s design?
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